A home was burglarized on the 14800 block of Corvallis Street last Wednesday, but some very important property was fortunately recovered.

The victim called police around 7:30 p.m. and reported that her front door was forced open and several items were missing, including the cremated remain of her father which were stored in a decorative urn.

She estimated that the burglary happened between 8 a.m. and noon, according to Lt. Randy Brandt of the San Leandro police.

Earlier that day, a city maintenance worker had found the box containing the ashes on a street near the victim’s residence and turned it over to a police officer. The connection was made and the ashes were retuned.

Storage Locker Jackpot

San Leandro police located a storage locker filled with over $40,000 in stolen property on Nov. 27.

The officers were doing follow-up work on an unrelated case when they spotted a man at a self-storage facility in Oakland that they knew was a suspect in several thefts, according to Lt. Randy Brandt of the San Leandro police.

The suspect is a 33-year-old San Leandro resident and officers searched his storage locker and found that it was filled tools.

The officers were aware of a burglary in Oakland three days earlier where a large quantity of expensive tools were swiped, Brandt said.

The man was arrested and later found to also have two stolen vehicles in his possession. The cars had been reported stolen out of Oakland and San Ramon.

Witness Chases Suspect

An witness ran after a suspect who grabbed a cell phone from a 62-year-old victim.

Around 3 p.m. on Dec. 8, police received a 911 call reporting a theft in progress on the 1300 block of Fairmont Drive, according to Lt. Jeff Tudor of the San Leandro police. The caller told them that a witness was chasing the suspect on foot.

When the cops arrived, the victim said someone pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket and the witness who had been chasing the suspect reported that he’d lost him near the Burger King at 15505 East 14th Street.

Officers went to the Burger King and found a man matching the description of the suspect. They arrested a 20-year-old Hayward man for grand theft from a person.